Vertebrates

505 million years
or 123 meters to today

Geolo­gical era: Paleo­zoic / Cambrian

The oxygen content in the sea rises sharply, and within 5–10 million years most of the blue­prints for the creatures that still exist today are created. Fish are the first creatures with an internal skel­eton and flex­ible spine. They are “two-sided anim­als”. This construc­tion plan is so success­ful that the age of fish begins. The found­a­tion for the devel­op­ment of all other verteb­rates, includ­ing humans, is thus laid.

During the Cambrian, the earth’s climate becomes warmer and warmer. The polar caps melt, and the sea level rises sharply. Finally, the contin­ents are largely flooded by shal­low seas. The land masses are mainly located in the south­ern hemi­sphere. Extens­ive deserts stretch out in their interior. The climate is hot and humid.